What is Secure Web Gateway Cisco? You may have heard this term before, but you’re not quite sure what it means. A Secure Web Gateway (SWG) is a security appliance that sits in front of your organization’s web traffic and provides security functions such as malware protection, URL filtering, and content inspection.
Let’s take a closer look at what a Secure Web Gateway is and how it can benefit your organization.
What Is Secure Web Gateway Cisco?
Price, performance, and simplicity are important factors when choosing the right Web Security Appliance. The Cisco Web Security Appliance (WSAv) combines high-performance inspection with a broad set of features to protect web traffic. This is with no per-user license fees and a low total cost of ownership.
The Cisco WSAv meets the needs of companies of all sizes and budgets. That is by supporting industry standards including SSL content inspection, antivirus protection, spam filtering, intrusion prevention, URL filtering, and traffic shaping. Also, Cisco WSAv is an easy to deploy, cost-effective solution that integrates with existing security infrastructure.
Thus, protects web applications from viruses and other threats. The WSAv also provides granular control for optimal traffic management.
Cisco WSAv Industry Standard Protocols
The Cisco WSAv supports a broad range of industry-standard protocols including HTTP, HTTPS, FTP, SMTP, POP3, and IMAP. The Cisco WSAv is a true stateful firewall that is capable of supporting high levels of traffic. This is while maintaining the control needed to enforce security policies.
The Cisco WSAv provides a wide range of granular control for optimized traffic management. So, the Cisco WSAv includes an industry-standard management interface with an easy-to-use wizard to configure it quickly and easily. Also, the Cisco WSAv offers the industry’s first Security Management Appliance (SMA) management solution.
Since it extends the configuration and management capabilities of the WSAv to include complete event reporting and real-time monitoring. So, Cisco WSAv supports remote configuration and management through the industry-standard Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP).
By using SNMP, administrators can configure and manage their security infrastructure from a single point. In addition, the Cisco WSAv offers a comprehensive set of Command Line Interface (CLI) commands. That is to allow for advanced configuration and troubleshooting.
The Cisco WSAv can be configured as a transparent proxy or a full proxy. As a transparent proxy, the appliance is installed directly between internal users and the Internet. Thus, allowing administrators to prevent viruses from entering the network while allowing internal users to retain access to information on the Internet.
As a full proxy, the appliance also provides authentication, authorization, and content inspection services for web users.
Web Traffic Policies
In either mode, administrators can create custom policies to protect data stored on their web servers. Also, it prevents malicious users from gaining access to company resources through unauthorized applications such as file-sharing programs. In addition, administrators can customize fine-grained policies based on protocol type and TCP/IP port number to further enhance security.
For example, they can create separate policies for FTP traffic or IMAP traffic or even specific ports such as port 80 or 443. This granular level of control allows administrators to ensure that only authorized applications are allowed in their environment. That is without sacrificing performance or usability for legitimate web users.
Furthermore, the Cisco WSAv provides real-time reporting based on user, application, service, and protocol. So, this information allows administrators to have a more comprehensive view of the network activity to identify and remediate potential problems. Thus, offering granular control for optimized traffic management.